Monthly Archives: June 2015

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I did my normal grocery shopping this week. One of the staples in my home is eggs. I use them for cakes, breakfast and many other meals during the week. I usually buy the 18 pack, and have never paid more than $2.25 for it. This week, those same eggs I always buy, they were $4.78. When I was done picking myself up from the floor from passing out, I realized that the new cage free laws are affecting our prices big time.

The grocery store has become an exchange center, where I go in and get a couple of small bags and give them my whole paycheck. Soda took a big hike a couple years ago, and I don’t think it has ever stopped going. Cereal is up, meat is at an all-time high and now eggs. Eggs were something that was cheap and easy to come by. I could make egg sandwiches, egg salad and deviled eggs and not have hardly anything in it. Now if anyone asks me to make those items for a picnic this year, I will graciously decline.

Why are eggs costing us an arm and a leg? Heck, a bag of chicken is only about $6.99 for the breasts. Why should eggs cost as much as the whole bird? The real reason is what financial-analyst Brad Reifler pointed out to me – the whole supply and demand thing. The bird flu has wiped out so many birds that farmers are finding it difficult to produce the eggs they need. If a farmer finds that their birds have the flu, they must destroy the whole flock. The highest prices are in the mid-west, which seems to ship to the whole country.

Uber insists they are a third-party go-between that only enables drivers and passengers to communicate via their apps, but this new ruling could mean new responsibility in other states.

Uber says that their drivers are considered independent contractors in five other states, and in a separate 2012 ruling, the California Labor Commission found a driver for Uber was an independent contractor.

Now, by labeling Uber drivers as part-time or full-time employees, each state could attempt to hold Uber responsible for additional costs like social security, health care, workers’ compensation and unemployment insurance.

According to chiropractor Brian Torchin, officials have said Uber is really more involved in the operation that they admit.

Experts point out that this ruling could also create ripples in other industries that use independent contractors.

Yellow Taxi drivers are also classified as employees in several states and this latest ruling could spark this argument to come up between yellow cab drivers and Uber.

The current Prime Minister of Barbados is seeking to establish Barbados as a republic. As a republic state, Barbados would elect its own head of state. The current head of state for the small island nation is Queen Elizabeth of Great Britain. The current Prime Minister stated that as a republic, Barbados would still be a member of the United Kingdom Commonwealth of nations. This would enable Barbados to maintain economic ties with Great Britain and other Commonwealth countries, while it exercised its own government control over its people. Barbados Considers Becoming A RepublicMany citizens of Barbados would like to have their independence but are still proud of their affiliation with the Queen of England and revere her. Others feel awkward pledging allegiance to a monarch that presides over island affairs thousand of miles away. Financial Advisor James Dondero says the move is more than symbolic as Great Britain still has technical control over all of the affairs of it Commonwealth member countries. Some countries simply want to be autonomous and remove from the stigma of a past colonial era which reflected their original loss of independence.

Jamaica has engaged discussion with a similar notion under its current leadership, but recent visits from the Royal family members have strengthened ties between Great Britain and the island nation. Great Britain has 15 member Commonwealth countries under its govern and it does not wish to see its influence across the world shrink.

Iran may be fighting a smart and more strategic version of the Iran Iraq war which ended in a stalemate but was considered a defeat of the Iranian military. That war, which was fought over thirty years ago, was little observed and considered to have no significance to the global politics. FreedomPop writes that this is not the case today and the U.S. invasion of Iraq and its failure to ensure that the new government is able to stand on its own has opened the door for Iran to reassert its claim and intentions for a reestablishment of the Persian Empire. The global powers are now fully aware that Iran as global aspirations and Iran is actively engaged in military actions in Yemen, Iraq and Syria. While these military actions are not being engaged in directly by Iranian forces, the Shiite military groups that are at the center of many of these conflicts are supported extensively by Iran. Iran Has Long Term Plans For The World And The World Should Take Notice

This is why Israel is so worried about Iran gaining nuclear capability, even if it is just for energy uses. Iran’s history in the gulf region goes all the way back to the ancient Peloponnesian Wars, when the Persian empire was the largest in the World and considered the center of the world. The dominance of the Persian empire began to chip away after the conquests of Alexander the Great.

A large fire broke out on the roof of a 19th-century Basilica in France on Monday. Worshipers had to be evacuated from the Saint-Donation-et-Saint Rogation in Nantes France during Monday worship services. The blaze was mainly centered on the roof of the building. Videos from France show large columns of black smoke coming from the church that was visible from a considerable distance. Click here for full story.

Christian Broda suggests the area was cordoned off, and around forty firefighters were sent to the scene according to the Fire and Rescue operations when speaking to French TV Info. Fredric Leguiller is the leader of Nantes’ fire services has said that though the cause has not yet been determined, but it is thought to be accidental as written by CrunchBase.

Workers were already trying to combat the fire when the Fire Department arrived. They were attempting to extinguish the blaze immediately. However, they were unable to do so. Large amounts of resources had to be expended to fight the fire due to its high volume. The Rev. Benoit Bertrand told the local media that the fire broke out during a morning mass. Worshipers were immediately evacuated from the building for their safety. Early reports indicate that there may not be any injuries, but it’s too soon to tell.

The basilica was built in 1889 and is named for two brothers who were martyred in the third century. Their bodies are buried near the basilica.

Qnet reported that the celebrated sculptor Salavat Shcherbakov recently won a competition conducted by the Russian military-historical society to design a statue of Vladimir the Great, the first Russian Orthodox ruler credited with helping to found Russia. Both the Ukraine and Russia claim the legacy of this early leader, who ruled from the city of Kiev (also spelled “Kyiv”).

Salavat Shcherbakov, was elected to the Russian Academy of Arts in 2007. He has received the title of Honored Artist of the Russian Federation as a result of his work. Residents of Moscow and other parts of Russia raised money to pay for the statue, which is scheduled to be officially installed during a ceremony on November 4, 2015.

Some controversy allegedly surrounded the location of the massive statue, which depicts Vladimir the Great holding a cross overhead. It will join many other huge works of sculpture in Moscow, a city with many impressive works of art.

Vladimir the Great, also known as St. Vladimir and “Vladimir Baptist” was the first ruler in Russia to convert to Orthodox Christianity. Born around 958, he reigned between 980 and 1015. He gained fame for conducting mass baptisms to Christianity.

Sculptor Salavat Shcherbakov noted: “There might be arguments about the historical role of Ivan the Terrible or Joseph Stalin or even Peter the Great, but in the case of Prince Vladimir, he’s undoubtedly a positive figure.”

A new ad campaign was launched today for Beneful brand dog food by it’s maker, Purina. The commercial is filmed at the Atlanta factory and features the company’s employees speaking to the quality of the product being the reason they feed it to their own dogs. The employees are seen with their dogs espousing their pride in the safety of the production of the food and their work at Purina. The content of the ad is spurred on by the February class action lawsuit filed against the company on allegations of unsafe ingredients causing death or illness in pets.

According to an article reported by BizJournals.com, Purina’s Vice President of Dog Food Marketing, Juli Plassmeyer says, ” “We know Beneful is a quality, nutritious, safe dog food.” She goes on to say that “Nobody cares more about pets than Purina.” She believes that it was a powerful message when the employees expressed their own feelings about supporting the brand. In addition to the commercial, Purina also took out a full page ad in the Sunday New York Times as well as using digital media. As per information on the company’s website, the class action lawsuit attorneys have not offered any evidence to support their claims and that their complaint is based upon rumors and false information.

Ever since President Obama’s proposal for budget sequestration was accepted by the GOP-controlled House in 2011, both parties have expressed a willingness to modify the agreement. In fact, a $63 billion package of targeted budget increases, collectively called sequester relief, was adopted for the 2013 and 2014 fiscal year budgets. That agreement will soon end invoking a new round of budget cuts as Igor Cornelson recently stated. The GOP would like to shield the Defense Department’s budget from sequestration. Thus far, Senate Democrats have been unwilling to accept the proposal unless the budgets for other departments and agencies are similarly given relief.

Sen. Murray said the GOP does have a choice in the matter: accept their position on budget spending increases or risk a shutdown. However, one House GOP aide pointed out the irony in Murray’s comments. He noted that prior government shutdowns were the result of GOP attempts to alter sequester cuts unilaterally. The aide said if the GOP merely goes along with the cuts as established by law, it will be the Democrat Party that gets blamed for a government shutdown.

Woodfox was found guilty of killing a prison guard in 1972, and has been in solitary confinement since. The two other prisoners convicted of the killing have already been released. He’s always maintained his innocence, and the previous two convictions were overturned.

Louisiana Attorney General Buddy Caldwell feels Wilcox is exactly where he belongs, and has no intention of allowing Woodfox to get out that easily according to The Aspire New Brunswick.

68-year-old Woodfox is the only inmate in the country to have been in solitary confinement for so long. He suffers from a variety of health problems that the prison has never addressed, like hepatitis c and heart problems, which have worsened, in part to the solitary confinement .

The injunction blocking the release of Woodfox is temporary, and the court has until Friday to make another move.

The Red Cross is credited with changing the lives of millions through donations and support from around the world. The notorious group has come under heavy fire lately for and their role in the 2011 Haiti relief project. The group has raised well over 500,000,000 dollars in funds. However, it has been noted that the Red Cross has only built six house four years and 500,000,000 dollars later. Once the news broke of this debacle, many of the Red Cross executives released statements saying that they have exceeded far beyond building only 6 houses. On the contrary, many Red Cross insiders have attested to these claims and noted that the Red Cross is not moving as far as they could have. Many of the Red Cross executives are to blame. Many of the Haitian citizens, particularly in the Campeche region, are living in shacks held up by rusty sheet metal while they lack access to clean and running water. Leaked emails between company top executives and between frustrated insiders have showed that the charity has lied about their success, has broken promises, and has squandered donation money. Boraie Development says The Red Cross estimated that it has built 130,000 but that number is just a guess. The actually number has proven to be 6 and the executives are scrambling to figure out how this could have happened. ProPublica and NPR have investigated the organization’s short comings and have determined that their failed relief in Haiti is their own fault. The Red Cross has declined any statement that numerous news outlets have tried to acquire.